Method and means fob preparing



Sept. 15, 1931. A. A. HOLBECK 1,823,604

METHOD AND MEANS FOR PREPARING METAL FOR POURING Filed Feb. 15. 1929 Patented Sept. "15.1931

uarrsn STATES AUSTIN A. HOLBECK, 01' LAKEWOOD, OHIO METHOD AND MEANS FOR PREPABINGMETAL'FOB TOURING Application filed February 15, 1929. Serial No. 840,032 r This invention relates to a method and means for preparing metal for pouring, and is intended primarily for use as part of a system of producing malleable iron castings lain a continuous melting, pouring, molding and annealing plant.

Malleable iron casting plants at the present time usually employ what are known as air furnaces for melting the metal and bringing it to the high temperature essential for the successful'pouring of the iron,

it being necessary to keep the metal in ahighly fluid state for about twenty minutes after it leaves the furnace. It is the pracl tice in using such a furnace to charge it with pig iron and scrap in such proportion as to make a predetermined analysis. This charge is then melted, the slag skimmed off, and the iron further heated to bring it to 29 the desired temperature for pouring. The molten iron is then drawn off, one ladle full at a time, and poured in the molds. The furnace is then ready for another charge. Pouring is necessarily interrupted during the melting and superheating opera-v tions and these operations require considerable time with the result that two heats per ten hour day are all that can be taken. Lit He has been done toward using a plurality 30 of such furnaces alternately, one reason therefor being that the conveyor apparatus must then be similarly multiplied and complicated. Melting in cupolas and refining small charges taken therefrom in electric furnaces has been employed to some small extent, but this method is open to the objections that it is diflicult to produce good malleable iron in a cupola and that the electric furnace is expensive on account of maintenance as well as on account of the'high consumption of electric current.

The present invention therefore has for one of its objects the provision of a method of preparing good quality malleable iron for continuous pouring, and delivering the same to ladles at one given point, without incurring a heavy expense for installation, operation and maintenance.

A further object is the provision of a method of this character in which the temperature of the iron when poured, shall be relatively high.

Other objects and features of novelty will appear as I proceed with the description of that embodiment of the invention which, for the purposes of the present application, I have illustrated in the accompanying d'rawings,in which .Figure 1 isa horizontal sectional. View, largely diagrammatic, illustrating an ar rangement of furnaces which may be employed in carrying out the invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical cross sectional diagrammatic view corresponding to the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view on a larger scale ofan air furnace such as may be advantageously employed.

In the drawings, the furnaces A and A are melting furnaces, arranged upon the same level. Two such furnaces will gen- ,erally' be suflicient, but the, invention cona stack 12, the furnace B being arranged at a level sufiiciently lower than the furnaces A and A to enable the full charge of either of the last named furnaces to be tapped into the furnace B. A conductor for tapping the molten metal from furnace A to furnace Bis indicated at 13. A similar conductor connecting the furnaces A and B is indicated. atlfl. Suitable means (not shown)'may be provided for preventing flow throiugh these conductors except when desire At a still lower level I provide another furnace C, which I term a heatingand holding furnace, connected with the furnace B by a conductor 15 similar to the conductors 13 and 14, and likewise provide with some suitable cut-ofi' means, not shown. From the opposite side of'the furnace extends one or two taps 16, from which may be filled ladles diagrammatically indicated at 17, these ladles being preferably supported to travel upon a conveyor or track, a portion of which 160 is indicated-by the broken line 18. A stack 19 serves-the furnace C.

The furnaces B and C are what are known in the industry as air furnaces, and the furnaces A and A are preferably, although not through conductor 13, and a new supply of pig iron and scrap is placed in furnace A, and the heating of this second charge begun. In the meantime themetal in furnace A is also being heated. The molten metal in fur- .necessarily, of the same character.

furnaces differ somewhat as to particulars of in order to bring up tlie temperature of the design, and I do not desire to be limited to metal to a point considerably in excess of any specific detailsin this regard. However, melting temperature, which may or may not for the sake of a complete disclosure of the be the temperaturedesired for pouring. The

Air nace; B is then subjected to a greater heat invention, I-have illustrated in Fig. 3 one final skimming operation to remove any ad= style of air furnace that is suitable for the ditional slag is ne t performed, and-- the i purpose, and that is more fully shown and metal 111 furnace B isthen tested for analydescribed in my Patent No. 1,590,373, issued sis, and if any elements are low they are June 29, 1926. InFig. 3 I have shown a added 1n the required amounts. Next the hearth 20 upon which the iron to be melted contents of furnace B are tapped, ofi into is placed Leading from one end of the furfurnace C through the conductor 15. In nace is a stack 21 through which the waste furnace C the metalmay be further heated to heat is conducted away. In this instance bring it up to pouring heat if that heatt had the fuel consists of powdered coal which is not been already attained in furnace B, and

delivered into the. opposite end of the furin any event to keep the metal at pouring nace by a nozzle 22. The powdered fuel is heat. Furnace B is then refilled by tapping the. distributing line 23 to the nozzle 22.

circulated through a distributing line 23, into it the charge of melted metal in furnace which may. be connected to the. nozzles of A, and the latter furnace again filled with the various furnaces by means of valved pig iron and scrap and theheating of its pipes 2 1, one of which is shown leading from charge begun. This second charge in furnace B is treated as before. Furnaces Band The pulverized fuel is moved along the C are now filled with molten metal, furnace line 23 and through the pipe 24 to the nozzle A with partially melted metal and furnace 22 by means of a circulating stfeam of air, A wlth newly supplied unmelted metal. but in order that the air and pulverized fuel The pouring operation may now be begun. may be delivered to the furnace in the right A ladle 17 is brought into position beneath proportions, a secondary air line 25 is con- 0nd of the taps 16, is filled and moved off nected to the pi e 24 just above the nozile upon the track of conveyor 18, and its con- 22. By meanso a connection 26, the air may tents poured into the waiting molds. The be introduced also into the top of the furnace. ladle may have a capacity of somewhere in The delivery of the secondary air, whether the neighborhood of ten'percent of the furtothe burner or directly to .the top of the nace capacity. If the contents of furnace furnace, is controllable through valves indi- Bare read the operator may tap therecated at 27 and-28. The air which is supfrom into rnace C an amount of metal plied through the pipe- 25 is heated by the equalto that drawn off in the ladle.- Other-- waste gases which pass up the stack 21. wise this latter operation may be delayed A considerable'number of parallel metal somewhat and the ta ping into furnace C disks 29 are mounted on a shaft 30 rotated performed any time efore the latter furin any suitable manner, these disks projectnace is emptied. Itis the aim of the ining partly into stack 11 and artly into a vention to maintain continuously in the furchamber 31, which is seated in the wall of the nace C a charge of metal at a temperature stack. The lower part of the chamber has suitable for ouring,-and to keep furnace an air inlet opening 32, and thetop of the C as nearly tilled as possible. As soon as chamber has an outlet opening 33 so that the this process of filling C from B exhausts air in passing through this chamber from 32 the metal in B, a new full charge istapped to 33 is compelled to ass along or between into furnace Bfrom furnace A. Theva the disks 29, and thus to absorb heat therewhich the current of air is set in motion.

In carrying out the method of the present invention .Wlth the apparatus above described, the furnaces A and A are filled with .pig iron and scrap to bemelted.- One of rious steps described are repeated, and all of the furnaces are kept active all of the time, the system being so designed that a sufiicient supply of metal heated to pouring temperature may beprovided at all times apparatus and method zs above described are preferred, the invention in .its broader aspects contemplates the omission of the last furnace C and the filling of the ladles directly from the furnace B, the latter receiving charges of melted iron alternately from furnaces A and A. This arrangement however does not provide a fully continuous system, since some little time must elapse after a new charge is tapped into furnace B before the metal in that furnace can be brought to a high heat, the additional slag removed, the metal tested and the necessary ingredients, if any, added.

()ther departures from the details herein disclosed may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention, and I desire it to be understood that the detailed disclosure herein' is primarily for the purpose of fully illustrating the invention and is not to be considered as a limitation upon the scope thereof.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A method of preparing metal for continuous pouring in a casting system, comfurnace, continuing this operation until said intermediate furnace is emptied, refilling said intermediate furnace by tapping metal thereinto from another of said melting furnaces, refilling said latter furnace with metal .to be melted, and proceeding as before. In testimony whereof, I hereunto aflix my signature.

AUSTIN A. HOLBECK.

of saidmelting furnaces, tapping off metal y from said holding furnace a portion at a time and replacing said metal by metal tapped off from said intermediate furnace, continuing this operation until said intermediate furnace is emptied, refilling said" intermediate furnace by tapping metal thereinto from another of said melting furnaces, refilling said melting furnace with Ifnetal to be melted, and proceeding as beore.

2. A method of preparing metal for continuous pouring in a casting system comprising melting metal in a plurality of furnaces, tap'ping off melted metal from one of said furnaces into an intermediate heating furnace, refilling said first named furnace with metal to be melted, bringing the metal in said intermediate furnace up to a predetermined heat above that of the melting furnaces, supplying any ingredients necessary to bring the metal in said intermediate furnace to the desired analysis, tapping off the metal from said intermediate furnace into a heating and holding furnace,

refilling said intermediate furnace by tapping off metal from another of said melting furnaces, supplying any ingredients necessary to bring the metal in the intermediate furnace up to the desired analysis, tapping off metal from said holding furnace a portion ata time and replacing said metal by metal tapped ofl' rom said intermediate 

